16th ASEAN Summit 2010

16th ASEAN Summit of 10 member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) was hosted by Vietnam (ASEAN President for 2010) at Hanoi ( capital and second-largest city of Vietnam) on 8th and 9th April 2010.

• Vietnam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010 coincides with the 15th anniversary of its accession to the Association. The last time Viet Nam hosted the Summit was in 1998.

Theme:
The theme of the summit was: Towards the ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action . The Summit was attended by the ASEAN Leaders, while Thailand was represented by its Foreign Minister.

ACWC
Prior to the summit, The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) was inaugurated on 7th April, 2010 by Prime Minister of Vietnam, H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung. The establishment of the ACWC is to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and children in ASEAN. It will take into consideration the different historical, political socio-cultural, religious and economic context in the region and the balances between rights and responsibilities.
Protocol on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms
On April 8, 2010, The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN signed the Protocol to the ASEAN Charter on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms. TheProtocol aims to put in place a mechanism to help ASEAN Member States resolve disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the ASEAN Charter. The Protocol also applies to other ASEAN instruments which do not specifically provide for dispute settlement mechanisms. The signing of the Protocol, which would facilitate the implementation of the ASEAN Charter, follows that of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of ASEAN that was signed by the Foreign Ministers in October 2009 in Cha-Am Hua Hin, Thailand.
ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Sustained Recovery and Development
Leaders at ASEAN summit said in the statement that they would focus efforts on ensuring financial stability, fostering regional infrastructure development and connectivity, promoting sustainable development and narrowing the development gap. In this context, they adopted the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Sustained Recovery and Development. The Leaders highlighted the need to promote Green Growth, including the development of green technology, its application and investment.
On ASEAN connectivity:
The leaders took note of the on-going efforts in developing a Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity. This Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity is to be submitted in October 2010, 17th Summit at Indonesia.
The first meeting of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN Connectivity was held on 9-10 March 2010 in Ha Noi. It had produced the key elements and principles for the Master Plan. The Leaders emphasized that priority should be given to enhancing intra-ASEAN connectivity, including the need to complete the missing air, sea and land transportation links in Mekong and other sub-regions of ASEAN building on achievements of existing frameworks. It was further reaffirmed that priority would be given to transport, information communication technology (ICT), energy and cross border facilitation for the smooth movement of people, goods and services.
On ASEAN Charter:
ASEAN Charter which aims of moving closer to "an EU-style community" is the institutional framework of the member-states which was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in at Jakarta, Indonesia in November 2007. The leaders of the ASEAN emphasized on the fast implementation of the charter. The signing of the protocol related to Dispute Settlement Mechanisms is also one step towards implementation of ASEAN Charter.
Next ASEAN Summit:
Next ASEAN summit will be held in October 2010 in Indonesia. Indonesia has proposed a swap with Brunei as it will play host APEC in 2013. The 2011 president of ASEAN is Indonesia